Tag: new york islanders

Islanders lose in overtime to injured Blackhawks

CHICAGO — This looks a whole lot like rock bottom for the Islanders. 

The team’s four-game road trip from hell was capped off by a 4-3 overtime loss to the Blackhawks — a team that more closely resembles a band of AHL misfits with much of its lineup injured than an NHL club — on Friday night at the United Center after Seth Jones’s game-winning goal. 

That pushes the Islanders’ losing streak to four and their record since Dec. 31 to an abysmal 2-6-2.

With the Devils beating the Blue Jackets, it also dropped the Islanders to seventh place in the Metropolitan Division.

And it turns up the heat under coach Lane Lambert’s seat to a boiling point. 

Facing a Blackhawks team that played on Thursday night after getting two days to rest in the Windy City, the Islanders looked lethargic and tired.

They struggled to break the puck out of their zone and won far too few puck battles.

The Blackhawks celebrate after defeating the Islanders 4-3 in overtime at the United Center. NHLI via Getty Images

In Nashville and Winnipeg, the Islanders could at least say they played decently and lost because of freaky goals against.

But like the 5-0 loss in Minnesota, this was a total failure and an indictment of everyone on the bench and behind it. 

As for Lambert’s status, management stood behind him during a seven-game losing streak in November and the noise around his job status tamped down.

But now it has turned back up just a couple of months later, and whether it is a change behind the bench or not, the Islanders look like a team that needs to be jolted into shape as soon as possible. 

Despite not playing particularly well, the Islanders did at least appear in control of the game until late in the second period.

That was when the walls began to fall in. 

After Ilya Sorokin stoned Boris Katchouk on a breakaway, the Islanders allowed Katchouk to gather his own rebound, skate around the zone and put away a wrist shot to tie the game at one at the 18:07 mark of the second.

Kyle Palmieri chases the puck near Blackhawks goalie Petr Mrazek during the Islanders’ loss. NHLI via Getty Images

Just 1:07 later, Joey Anderson finished off a two-on-one breakaway from Colin Blackwell to send the Islanders into the dressing room for intermission stunned. 

Needing a renewed effort and a comeback more than ever in the last 20 minutes, the Islanders came up with enough to tie the game.

But not enough to win it. 

Bo Horvat cut the lead to 3-2 in short order, netting Mathew Barzal’s cross-ice feed.

Then at the 12:50 mark, Kyle Palmieri’s wraparound tied the game at three. 

Bo Horvat (14) celebrates with teammates after scoring during the Islanders’ overtime loss. NHLI via Getty Images

Come overtime, the failure to finish the game cost them when Jones’ shot from the high slot found the back of the net. 

Though one point is better than none, spinning this as a positive would be pretty hard to do. 

Save for a spell in the third period, the urgency and energy was not close to where it needed to be.

A team that was in second place and looking like a playoff lock not too long ago looked like a shell of itself and got the result to show it. 

Even early on, the Islanders looked like they might get out of Chicago with two points, but barely.

Julien Gauthier reaches for the puck against the Blachawks’ Isaak Phillips (left) during the Islandrs’ loss. NHLI via Getty Images

The Blackhawks took the game’s first eight shots as the Islanders looked abysmal in their own zone early on.

But it was the visitors’ first shot of the game — from Brock Nelson off the rush — that actually found the back of the net. 

With Nelson’s line continuing to create chances, it looked like the Islanders might have just enough to get through the game, get two points and get home. 

That proved a fanciful notion. 

The Metropolitan Division and the wild-card race alike are still tight enough that the Islanders are nowhere near out of it.

But that only matters if they can start collecting points. 

And right now, they are playing their worst hockey of the season, with low confidence and issues plaguing both ends of the ice. 

Something has to change. And soon.

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Hudson Fasching learning ‘different style’ in elevated Islanders role

CHICAGO — Hudson Fasching’s game is almost tailor-made for a bottom-six role.

He gets north.

He retrieves pucks.

He forechecks.

He’s pesky.

He plays in a straight line.

It’s a role that’s allowed Fasching to carve out a place on the Islanders’ roster and in their lineup over the past 13 months.

And now that the team’s forward lines look different with Pierre Engvall and Casey Cizikas hurt, it’s a role from which Fasching may need to deviate a bit.

For four of the past five games, including Friday night against the Blackhawks, Fasching has played up on the second line with Brock Nelson.


New York Islanders right wing Hudson Fasching carries the puck past Minnesota Wild left wing Marcus Foligno during the first period at Xcel Energy Center. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con

That might be the case for a little bit of time since neither Cizikas nor Engvall have resumed skating on their own.

“I try to maintain my own identify throughout the game, but yeah it’s a different style,” Fasching told The Post after the Islanders skated Friday morning at the United Center. “A lot more [offensive] zone draws, a lot more creativity. [Nelson’s] just really fast, too. I’m learning that as I go.

“Trying to find spots where he’s gonna be and find good lanes to try to help him and try to help [Kyle Palmieri]. Try to get our line contributing.”

Over 27:54 together this season heading into Friday, Fasching, Nelson and Palmieri had been on the ice for three goals against and just one goal for at five-on-five.

The silver lining, however, was that their expected goals rate sat at 68.97 percent with an 8-5 high-danger chance margin.

Ahead of Friday, Nelson had gone four straight games without a point, tying his longest streak of the season.

Combined with cold streaks for Mathew Barzal and Bo Horvat, that is a five-alarm fire for an Islanders team whose offense has suddenly gone cold.

It’s a small sample size, but the numbers point to the second line’s play having been better than the results.

The Islanders, losers of three straight prior to Friday, need to hope that is the case.


Hudson Fasching, pictured in an October game, needs to fill a top-six role for the Islanders given their injuries.
Hudson Fasching, pictured in an October game, needs to fill a top-six role for the Islanders given their injuries. Robert Sabo for the NY Post

“I think Fasch plays a simple, effective game,” Nelson said. “He’s able to hang onto some pucks. He’s strong on pucks. So for us, getting some turnovers off of that, hopefully generate some more possession time off of that. I think just try to support him, be in good spots. I don’t think he has to change his game.

“He’s effective at what he does when he’s playing hard and simple.”

Coach Lane Lambert also said he wants Fasching to keep doing what he’s been doing.

“I think that would be a mistake for him,” Lambert said. “He’s a player who plays a certain way. We want him to play a certain way, and I think that can benefit both Brock and Palms.”

The adjustment for Fasching then will come less in changing how he plays and more in what different situations than he’s used to being in will demand of him.

Engvall, remember, was in a bottom-six role for most of his time with the Maple Leafs.

He is not an especially gifted scorer, but the Islanders turned him into a key part of their second line by leveraging his speed and ability to transition the puck — allowing him to complement Nelson.

They can now survive his absence by doing something similar with Fasching.

“I try to just stay flexible with it,” Fasching said. “I’m starting to acclimate a little bit better to knowing where [Nelson’s] going to be. Neutral zone regroups and things like that where we had a couple things that were just off by a couple feet the other game [in Winnipeg]. It kind of affects the game flow, it gets a little choppier. I think we’re in a better spot now.”

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Islanders’ Bo Horvat shades old Canucks side

Tell us how you really feel, Bo Horvat. 

While being interviewed on MSG following the Islanders’ 4-0 win over the Flyers on Saturday night, Horvat dropped a quote that will reverberate around the city of Vancouver. 

“It’s been unbelievable,” Horvat said, asked about the Islanders’ playoff push and the fans at UBS Arena. Then came the hammer. “It’s a lot better than Vancouver. I’ll tell you that for free.” 

Horvat spent the first nine seasons of his career with the Canucks before the Islanders acquired him in late January in a trade that sent Anthony Beauvillier, Aatu Raty and a conditional 2023 first-round pick to Vancouver.

Horvat said after the deal that, as late as last summer, he envisioned himself being a Canuck for life. 

Evidently, he’s glad that never came to fruition. 

Instead, Horvat signed an eight-year, $68 million extension to stay on Long Island. 

The Canucks have been a portrait of dysfunction this year, but to hear a player who was their captain say it so plainly will sting for the franchise and its fan base. Vancouver, which is on its way to missing the playoffs, fired coach Bruce Boudreau after a drawn-out ordeal in January, and has made a series of almost comical public relations missteps. 


Bo Horvat shaded his old Canucks side.
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Bo Horvat with the Canucks
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Vancouver has made the playoffs just once since 2015, and that was in the NHL bubble in 2020. 

By contrast, the Islanders are chasing down a playoff berth. If they are successful, it would make 2021-22 the only season since 2017-18 in which they missed the playoffs. 

Casey Cizikas drew the biggest ovation of an otherwise uneventful third period when he returned to the game following a block on Rasmus Ristolainen that sent him down in a heap. 

After spending a few minutes testing his left leg in the tunnel — initially struggling to put weight on it — Cizikas took a twirl around the ice during a TV timeout, then played three more shifts, including one on which he drew a hooking penalty on Brendan Lemieux. 

“Well he’s a warrior,” coach Lane Lambert said. “We know that. It was a huge block at a pivotal time of the game for us. So he does what he does. And continue to do that.” 

Asked for a status update on Cizikas, Lambert avoided comment. 

Alexander Romanov, who missed a third straight game for the Islanders with an upper-body injury, has yet to begin skating on his own. Mathew Barzal remained out with a suspected knee injury and has not started skating with the team.

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Islanders’ Oliver Wahlstrom out for season with knee injury

TAMPA, Fla. — Lou Lamoriello confirmed what everybody already knew.

Oliver Wahlstrom is out for the season.

“He will not be back [this season], yes, but he will definitely be ready before the summer’s over,” Lamoriello said before the Islanders’ 5-0 loss to the Lightning.

That comes as little surprise, given that Wahlstrom last played before Christmas, and was last seen sporting crutches and a brace on his left knee.

The injury to the right winger was tough news for the Islanders at the time, since the 22-year-old had earned a regular spot in the lineup and impressed with his physicality following an up-and-down 2021-22 season.

“I just thought he was really coming along,” coach Lane Lambert said. “He adds a certain element to our hockey team that was, at that point, needed. And we’ve missed him.

“Just a matter of him getting better and getting ready for what’s to come next.”


Oliver Wahlstrom
NHLI via Getty Images

For Wahlstrom, a restricted free agent after this season, there’s little suspense over whether he’ll return to the Islanders — it’s incredibly rare for a restricted free agent to sign an offer sheet in the NHL, let alone leave — but the injury likely cost him some money as well.

The good news is that he’ll be ready for training camp, and that he should have plenty of runway to get back to full strength with nine months between the original injury and the start of the 2022-23 season.

Lamoriello had no interest in discussing his own future, seeming to take offense to a question on the subject Saturday.

“I never talk about myself,” Lamoriello said, before railing about the presupposition that the original deal he signed with the Islanders will expire at the end of the season.

It is well-known around the league and has been widely reported that the deal expires after the end of the season.

Sebastian Aho traveled with the team to Tampa and skated Saturday morning, but did not play against the Lightning.

“He pushes the puck up the ice for us, competes hard,” Lambert said. “He’s had a great season and so we look forward to getting him back when we do.”

Travis Mitchell and Aidan Fulp, whom the Islanders signed to entry-level deals on Friday out of college, also signed tryout deals allowing them to play games with AHL Bridgeport.

“We’re glad we can get them, size and strength is something that they both [have] — one’s a left shot, one’s a right shot,” Lamoriello said. “They’re both in Bridgeport right now, so they’ll get acclimated to the organization and I’m sure get in the lineup before the season’s over.”

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Islanders have been on roll since this Adam Pelech’s return

WASHINGTON — Ryan Pulock knows Adam Pelech’s game as well as anyone walking the planet, having partnered with the defenseman for much of both players’ careers, dating back to their days in AHL Bridgeport.

So when Pulock takes note of a performance, it is no passing compliment.

And Pulock took note on Monday.

“I told him after the game or [the next] morning, he was like a snake out there,” Pulock said. “He was all over the place, breaking up plays, there’s guys trying to go one-on-one with him, they basically got nowhere.”

Pelech’s 25:02 time on ice in a 5-1 win against the Devils, which coach Lane Lambert called one of the best games he’d ever seen from him, put something of an exclamation point on a fact that’s been evident since Pelech returned to the lineup over two months ago.

He just might be the most important player on this team.

The Islanders went 7-9-5 after Pelech went down with a concussion in early December, including a January nadir in which their playoff hopes nearly faded into oblivion.


Adam Pelech
NHLI via Getty Images

Since his return, they’re 16-8-4 following Wednesday’s 2-1 shootout win against the Capitals, having weathered an injury to Mathew Barzal and coming close to locking down a spot in the postseason.

“He’s obviously just a really good player for us on the back end, that’s really important,” Noah Dobson told The Post. “And then obviously when he comes back, it adds another piece to our back end, that’s really important. So it’s not that surprising. He’s a significant piece.”

That has always been the line around Pelech. But the last few months have been a case of show don’t tell.

“Seems like he’s always solid and in a good position and with a good stick,” Brock Nelson told The Post. “He’s always breaking plays up. Something that the average person might not recognize, but if you hone in and kinda iso-cam, you’d probably appreciate his game a little bit more. Especially defensively, he’s always in the way, in lanes, good sticks, breaking up potential dangerous plays.”

Pelech had just 19 points this season going into Wednesday’s game against the Capitals, five goals and 14 assists. He’s never been considered a Norris Trophy contender and last year was his only time being selected for the All-Star team.

The best ways to understand his impact are to watch him on every shift and to watch the Islanders without him. The difference is subtle but stark — an unstated element of calm settles over the Islanders when he’s in the game.

Some of that shows up in the numbers. Pelech leads the Islanders in plus-minus and has a 51.6 expected goals percentage at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick. Since being paired with Scott Mayfield, the two have formed the most effective duo on the Isles’ back end despite usually matching up with the opposing top line.

Much of what Pelech does, though, is intangible and irreplaceable.

“What he brings every night in different areas of the game, defensively and on the PK and whatnot, is hard to replace,” Pulock said. “When you get a player back like that, it’s good for the morale of the team. It just translates on the ice, just good leadership and a solid rock back there.”

Who knows where the Isles would be if Pelech’s injury had kept him out longer. They’re glad they don’t have to find out.

“Teams have top players for a reason and teams miss top players for a reason,” Lambert said. “He’s a huge piece of our team. When he’s in, we’re a better team.”

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Islanders’ Zach Parise following dad’s footsteps in twilight of career

Zach Parise hasn’t sat down and watched a full game of his father’s.

Not start to finish.

But every so often, bits and pieces filter through.

The old highlights come across his computer screen and he’ll feel something.

“It’s great,” Parise said Friday night. “To see him play, not only with the Islanders, but seeing those Team Canada highlights [in the 1972 Summit Series], it makes you proud. He had an awesome career in the NHL. Just like any kid, I wanted to follow in his footsteps.”

The close relationship between Zach and J.P. Parise is well-documented, forming the backdrop of Zach’s 18-year NHL career — particularly during his time with Minnesota, where he grew up and where his dad played nine of his 14 seasons in the league.

In that sense, Friday night was another link in a chain that keeps getting longer.

Like his dad, who died in 2015, Zach went from Minnesota to Long Island in the twilight of his career.


Parise has had a resurgence with the Islanders by scoring 20 goals this season.
Michelle Farsi for the NY Post

Zach’s first Islanders goal came on Dec. 11, 2021 — which would have been J.P.’s 80th birthday.

And on Friday,  Zach’s first period goal trickled through Michael Hutchinson for his 20th tally of the season.

It marked just the fourth time in NHL history that a father-son combination have each scored 20 goals for the same franchise.

“With how influential he was on my life and my career, it means a lot,” Parise said following the Islanders’ 5-4 overtime loss Friday at Columbus. “It’s special to share something like that with him. And I know that he had a lot of success playing on the Island and loved it. I’ve been loving it, too. To share something like that with him is special.”

This season, Parise is the third-leading goal-scorer on the Islanders, and has played a pivotal role in their playoff chase.

And he has done that as a 38-year-old, openly contemplating what his future will be after the season: whether to come back for another season or return home to Minneapolis with his wife and kids.

“Twenty’s a good number to hit,” said Parise, the only player in franchise history to reach 20 goals at age 38 or older. “I’ve been fortunate to find some good chemistry with guys up front here. And right now our line’s playing well. We’re playing well defensively, we’re chipping in on the offense. Our chemistry’s getting better and better.”

During his last season with the Wild, in 2020-21, it looked as though Parise was hitting the end of the line. Instead, he has found a renewal of his hockey life with the Islanders: 15 goals last season, 20 and counting this season.

If this ends up being his last ride, he’s making the most of it.

“He’s just kinda the consummate teammate,” Hudson Fasching said. “You watch him, whenever anyone scores a goal or something, he’s excited just as hard for anybody and for somebody else to be doing something well. He’s just such a great guy and such a good teammate.”


The elder Parise also played with the Islanders during his career.
B Bennett/Getty Images

J.P. Parise was an Islander for only two full seasons and parts of two more, but he left a lasting impact on the franchise.

Prior to Bob Nystrom’s overtime goal against the Flyers in Game 6 of the 1980 Stanley Cup Final, Parise scored what was the biggest goal in Islanders history, an overtime winner to clinch the first round of the 1975 playoffs against the Rangers.

Zach Parise, when his career ends, will be remembered more for his time with the Devils and Wild, than his stint with the Islanders. 

But he’s making an impact in his second season on the Island that will be felt for a long time.

“You see it in his game on the ice and the way he works on the ice, he never quits,” Jean-Gabriel Pageau said. “That’s the attitude he has all of his career and that’s why he’s been so successful. … He’s just amazing. Amazing person, amazing player, we’re lucky to have him.”

Just like his dad.

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Call-up Hudson Fasching making big impact for Islanders

PITTSBURGH — When Hudson Fasching was called up to the Islanders in early December, he wasn’t even the first call-up to get a chance in the lineup.

It was only after Cole Bardreau made an underwhelming impression that Fasching drew into the mix, the hope being that he could fill in for Cal Clutterbuck on the fourth line as the Islanders sorted out their injuries. Four months later, Fasching hasn’t left.

The little-known 27-year-old, who had played 38 NHL games across seven seasons going into 2022-23, has become a staple of the Islanders’ bottom-six. And he scored the game-winning goal off his knee in the biggest victory of the season so far, against Buffalo on Tuesday night.

Out of nowhere, keeping Fasching — an unrestricted free agent — in the mix for next season looks like it should be a priority for general manager Lou Lamoriello. A player who wasn’t on anyone’s radar back at training camp, Fasching has made it.

“When I got called up, I kinda told myself like, ‘Screw it. We’re just gonna pretend I’m confident right from the get-go.’ And that was kinda the game plan,” Fasching said after the 3-2 win over the Sabres. “We’re just gonna run with it, see how it goes.”


Hudson Fasching celebrates after scoring a game-winning goal in the Islanders’ 3-2 win over the Sabres.
Corey Sipkin for NY Post

Fasching is an endearingly Midwestern character. Polite and unflinching. When he first started making an impact in the Islanders’ lineup, he knew it couldn’t be temporary. Still on Tuesday, he talked about “trying to keep proving” he belongs each day.

“You play six years in the minors, there’s only so many kicks at the can you got,” Fasching said. “In my mind, it’s one of the last shots at it. That’s kinda why I was trying to do that, I guess.”

Coach Lane Lambert briefly let himself grin on Tuesday night when asked about Fasching’s rise.

“It makes me feel great,” he said. “You like the guys and all our guys work. They come to work every day, they practice hard and whoever it might be, we’re happy for them and the guys are all happy for each other. Hudson’s having a good run here.”

Fasching joked that he didn’t think there was much difference between fake and real confidence, so it’s hard to know which he’s carrying now. It should, though, be real. Fasching is not coming out of the lineup anytime soon, and he has more than likely earned himself an NHL contract somewhere this summer.

While playing with the Sabres, the team for which he made his NHL debut in March 2016, Fasching started paying more attention to his mental approach.

“Meditation, journaling, stuff like that. I think that’s a big part of the game,” he said. “To have your mind be clear out there is incredibly important. I’ve been working on the mental side probably since then, since I realized how important it was.”


Hudson Fascing celebrates his game-winning goal against the Sabres with his Islanders teammates.
Corey Sipkin for NY Post

That’s all paying off now, as Fasching has found a home on the third line skating alongside Casey Cizikas. On Tuesday, that duo was on the ice together for 10:45 at even strength, alongside both Matt Martin and Josh Bailey. Fasching assisted Cizikas from behind the net on the Islanders’ first goal, then scored the game-winner just over seven minutes into the third period, deflecting Bailey’s pass off his knee and in.

All game, the two of them brought needed energy to the Islanders, dominating with the puck and wearing down the Sabres. The high-danger chance counter read 8-0 with the two of them on the ice, with the shot margin at 10-2. That game erased any doubt about what Fasching’s role should be.

“It’s one of those things, you always try to believe in yourself,” Fasching said. “I always believed if I had a true opportunity to do it, I could do it.”

That belief has now been vindicated.

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Simon Holmstrom scores game-winner in Islanders’ win

If the Islanders were healthy, there’s a good chance Simon Holmstrom wouldn’t have played on Wednesday.

Holmstrom, a fixture in the lineup since he was called up after Kyle Palmieri got injured in late November, might have spent the last few months yo-yoing between Bridgeport and Long Island if the situation had not necessitated otherwise.

He had a rough performance in Pittsburgh on Monday night, after coach Lane Lambert had said he wanted more from the 21-year-old, but the Islanders couldn’t just demote him as part of the learning experience. With five forwards on the shelf right now, they didn’t have much of a choice but to keep Holmstrom up.

“It gives him an opportunity to fight through the adversity here or try to find some traction,” Lambert said Wednesday night. “Which can be extremely helpful as we move forward.”

A little earlier in the night, it had already helped the Islanders in their 2-1 victory over the Jets.


Simon Holmstrom (left) accepts congratulations from Bo Horvat after scoring the game-winning goal in the third period of the Islanders’ 2-1 win over the Jets.
AP

Mason Appleton reacts dejectedly as the Islanders’ celebrate Simon Holmstrom’s game-winning goal.
Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post

Holmstrom got to the corner, fought through a hit from Dylan DeMelo and found himself on the receiving end from a feed from Bo Horvat midway through the third period. He let loose and came up with what turned into the game-winning goal.

“It was a good forecheck from our line,” Holmstrom said. “We got the puck back a couple times. I got the puck and I was just trying to find a lane and pick a corner.”

Holmstrom did what the Islanders have been trying to get him to do.

“We need him to get more shots and get into areas,” Lambert said Wednesday morning. “I think that’s the biggest thinking, is to get him into areas where he can provide that.”

Message received.

As for the hit by DeMelo, one of the harder plays in a tight and physical contest?

“It’s hockey,” Holmstrom said. “You gotta take a hit and make a play, right?”

And learn how to bounce back, which he did.

“It’s greatly satisfying and I’m happy for him,” Lambert said. “There isn’t a player that doesn’t want to do well or isn’t trying to do well. He had a good night tonight. Let’s hope he continues it going.”

The injured Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Josh Bailey have yet to begin skating, Lambert said.

The Islanders sent down Andy Andreoff while calling up Otto Koivula from AHL Bridgeport for his second audition within eight days. Koivula centered the fourth line, skating 8:46, but taking a penalty for tripping in the third period.

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Islanders’ Pride Night won’t feature rainbow jerseys or tape

The Islanders will be the latest team to avoid wearing rainbow warmups for Pride Night on Thursday against the Canucks.

Unlike the Rangers, who pulled their plans to do so without explanation, the Islanders have never worn rainbow jerseys due to an organizational policy against wearing specialized warmups. The only ones they wear are mandated by the league: Hockey Fights Cancer, Military and St. Patrick’s Day.

The Islanders also won’t be using rainbow tape in warmups, another common theme in Pride nights throughout the league.


The Islanders will hold Pride Night on Thursday, but won’t be wearing an special jerseys or using Pride tape to commemorate the event.
Getty Images

The issue has come to the forefront this season after Philadelphia defenseman Ivan Provorov refused to take part in warmups on the Flyers’ Pride Night, stating his religious beliefs as his reason for not supporting the LGBTQ+ community. A couple weeks later, the Rangers suddenly reversed their plans to wear rainbow warmups, and still haven’t explained why.

The Islanders will be making donations toward the LGBT Network and the New York Gay Hockey Association, as well as a series of other initiatives including Pride branding on their advertising boards and on the team’s social and digital platforms.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has made clear that he doesn’t want the issue of rainbow warmups to overshadow the league’s initiatives supporting the gay community. In reality, though, it has.


Ivan Provorov drew stern criticism when he opted not to skate in warmups while the Flyers wore their Pride Night jerseys.
AP

“You know what our goals and our values and our intentions are across the league, whether it’s at the league level or the club level,” Bettman said at last week’s All-Star Game. “But we also have to respect some individual choice. And some people are more comfortable embracing themselves and causes than others. And part of being diverse and welcoming is understanding those differences.”

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‘Nervous’ Bo Horvat makes immediate impact with Islanders

PHILADELPHIA — Lane Lambert wasted no time getting Bo Horvat on the ice, sending the newest Islander out for the opening draw on Monday night. 

Horvat didn’t score in the 2-1 victory over the Flyers, but his line with Mathew Barzal and Josh Bailey had an all-around successful night, and both Horvat and Barzal spoke glowingly of playing with each other afterwards. 

“He was great,” Horvat said of Barzal. “He’s got so much skill and he creates so much out there. I was trying to get the puck to him and get open. He was finding me, found me a couple times. We had some good looks.” 

“I think we probably could have had three or four [goals],” Barzal said. “Some good possession time. Some good plays. It’s nice — every time Bo had the puck, I had confidence he was gonna make a good play and he did. And he won a lot of battles down low, got me the puck. I really enjoyed it tonight.” 


Bo Horvat made his Islanders debut during the team’s win over the Flyers on Feb. 6.
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Bo Horvat battles for the puck during the Islanders’ win over the Flyers on Feb. 6.
AP

In 11:31 of ice time, the top line outshot the Flyers 11-5 and had an expected goals percentage of 56.01. Horvat, who skated for 19:08, had four shots on net and six total attempts, including one that hit the crossbar. And he did so with “awful” nerves. 

“I’m not gonna lie, I was really nervous tonight,” Horvat said. “The guys made me feel really comfortable and they were great. Obviously it feels even better to get that win, to get my legs under me. Hopefully feeling better here tomorrow.” 

He did admit, though, that with his first home game Tuesday against the Kraken, the nerves were unlikely to dissipate. 

“It’s gonna be exciting,” Horvat said. “I’m really looking forward to it.” 

Noah Dobson (lower body) and Hudson Fasching (lower body) were both back in the lineup on Monday, with Fasching activated off injured reserve. No one was sent down, meaning the Islanders are currently carrying a full 23-man roster. 

Dobson picked up his 100th career point on an assist to Barzal 8:18 into the second period. 


Noah Dobson returned to the Islanders’ lineup.
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“I thought he played well,” Lambert said. “Clearly he hasn’t played for a while so there was always gonna be some little stretch to get back into it, but I thought he was good.” 

Kyle Palmieri has now scored points in five straight games. 

Alexander Romanov’s wife, Sofia, gave birth to a daughter, Olivia.

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